Sunday, May 15, 2011

Cooking For Elliot: Dessert x 3

Well hello gorgeous...

And another missed post last week. This time thanks to a hectic work schedule and then a Mother's Day featuring lots of deliciousness, none of which was cooked by me. Also, Easter Candy redux. Everyone knows it's just plain wrong to let perfectly good holiday M&Ms go to waste. All this just to say that by the time I got home on Sunday, I was too full to do much of anything except unbutton my pants and fall asleep...Only to wake up two hours later, hot, sweaty, and wearing pants that had somehow adhered themselves to my body. Again, no photographic evidence of this travesty for which you should all be grateful. And on that note...

I bring you a new twist on Cooking For Elliot's usual menu theme. Following a week of unbelievable work stress and my coincidental decision to begin the "Insanity" workout program (based solely on my deep love and appreciation for infomercials, especially those that only run in the middle of the night), I was hankering for some dessert items that wouldn't f- up my pants situation, and would also double as tasty breakfast treats. And, of course, would satisfy the vegan, gluten/nut/egg/dairy-free requirement of just about everything on here. As always, I scoured the web and searched through my archives for a few super-special bites and success was within my grasp! To further simplify matters I've broken them down into three categories based largely on fiber and sugar content: Healthiest, Healthy, and Let's Not Kid Ourselves. The last one is what I've dubbed "Almost Entenmann's Crumbcake" just called Allergen-Free Crumbcake by Cybele Pascal (www.cybelepascal) who is a genius of gluten-free and allergen-free baking. It is ridiculous how good and similar to my long-lost love - the Entenmann's Original Crumbcake - it is. A must try. The "Healthiest" option - Dark Chocolate Chunk and Cereal Grain Cookie - is adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Post-Punk Kitchen (www.ppk.com). The "Healthy" option is adapted from the book Eating Right 4 Your Type.

P.S. These have been road-tested by eaters of all walks and couch-sitters of life: everyone from those who think fruit is a dessert (please) and those who prefer their sweet treats to come with preservatives listed first. These puppies have passed with flying colors! So chow down, and button up. No longer an oxymoron.

P.P.S. I resisted the urge to combine these two meals and call them Bressert or DesFast, which - come to think of it - sound like a folk duo of ill-repute.

Blend baking soda, baking powder, salt, and allspice with quinoa flour. Combine sugar and oil. Separately mix flax and milk alternative and then add to sugar and oil. Stir well and then add flour mixture. Spoon into oiled 8×8-inch cake pan and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake tester tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in pan. When cool, slice into slices or, if preferred, slice into chunks. Alternate layers of chunks of cake with coconut milk yogurt. Sprinkle maple sugar on top.

To make Cybele's excellent gluten-free flour mix combine 4 cups superfine brown rice flour (I just used what I had which was a combo of both and sifted it), 1 1/3 cup potato starch (not potato flour), 2/3 cup tapioca starch or tapioca flour. Combine in a gallon Ziploc sack by shaking.

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup flour mix (see above)

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (more if you like a more cinnamon-y taste to your crumb as I do)

1/4 cup cold dairy-free shortening (I use Earth Balance)

Combine in a bowl until crumbly. Form larger chunks by pressing crumbs together. Set aside.

For the cake:

1/2 cup dairy-free shortening

2 cups flour mix (see above)

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk or rice milk vanilla yogurt

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup rice milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (through salt). Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix yogurt and vinegar. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix egg replacer and rice milk. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat shortening, sugar, egg replacer mixture, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour in three additions, alternating with yogurt mixture, ending on the flour mixture.

Pour into a 9x9 baking dish that's been greased with shortening and dusted with the flour mixture (shake out excess). Sprinkle crumbs over top. Bake in oven until top springs back, about 45 minutes.

Cool in rack for about 15 minutes. Invert cake on to a plate and then on to a rack, crumb side up. Let cool completely. Cybele says it keeps for 3 days. Clearly she's never been to my house.